How to Buy Gold with American Express [2024] | Step-by-Step

Summary: Buying gold with American Express (AMEX) is more than possible, but whether your card is a valid payment method will depend on the exact dealership you’re conducting your business with. To bypass potential payment problems, AMEX users can connect their cards with regulated third-party brokers such as Interactive Brokers to acquire a precious metal safely.

Can you buy gold with American Express?

Yes, you can buy gold with American Express by creating an account with a regulated broker and connecting your AMEX card. What is more, AMEX cash advance policies were updated in 2021, effectively removing gold and other precious metals from the equation, meaning you will not be charged additional annual percentages and interest rates when purchasing precious metals. 

How to buy gold with American Express?

While buying gold directly might seem like an appealing and hassle-free course of action thanks to AMEX cash advance policies alluded to above, you might want to rather conduct the gold purchase via third-party investment services like Interactive Brokers.

How to buy gold with American Express: step-by-step

Purchasing gold with American Express can be done in a few simple steps:

• Step 1: Create and verify your account;
• Step 2: Choose the amount of money you want to transfer to Interactive Brokers;
• Step 3: Link your Interactive Brokers’ account with your American Express card and transfer the selected amount of fiat currency;
• Step 4: Find gold by heading over to the Commodities section on the website, selecting gold, and specifying the exact amount.

Disclaimer: CFDs are complex financial instruments and carry a significant risk of losing money rapidly because of leverage. Note that 62.5% of retail investor accounts face losses when trading CFDs with IBKR. It’s important to assess your understanding of how CFDs work and whether you can bear the substantial risk of financial loss. This product is not available for US investors.

Gold price today

About American Express

American Express (AMEX) (NYSE: AXP) is an American-based multinational financial services company specializing in payment cards. The company has its origins in the 19th century, having started as an express mail business in 1850, later expanding into financial services, such as travelers’ cheques and credit cards, for which it is most known today. As of 2021, the company accounts for 22.9% of the total dollar volume of credit card transactions on the domestic market.

In addition to credit cards, American Express provides additional financial services, including:

• Personal banking: Personal loans, savings accounts, checking accounts, Certificates of Deposit (CDs), retirement accounts, Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs), personal financial management,  High-Yield Savings Accounts (HYSA);
• Business banking: Business credit cards, lines of credit, business loans, business savings accounts, business Certificates of Deposit (CDs), 
• Wealth management: Automated investing and investment management, retirement planning, insurance and estate planning consultations, and investment rewards. 

American Express gold policy

American Express has taken some rather positive steps in regard to gold in the past couple of years. Namely, while the company surprised many in 2020 by announcing that, as of January 15, 2021, it would expand its cash advance rules to include purchases of coins and bullion — implying additional fees would be necessary for each transaction — it quickly did a 180 the following year, stating that, as of October 1, 2021, they would “remove precious metal coins or bullion and digital precious metals products from the definition of ‘cash advance.’”

Aside from cash advance policies, the company does not have any policies that apply to gold and precious metals specifically. However, there are policies and regulations that apply to all transactions done with AMEX cards, which naturally include those that have to do with precious metals. 

As of December 2023, there have been no new announcements in regard to precious metals policies or cash advance fees. The American Express Platinum Card, interestingly, remains the card with the highest cash advance limit.

Ways to invest in gold 

Although gold can be a bit volatile as a currency, it’s still a rather popular hedge option. Investing in gold can be done in several ways:

• Physical gold;
• Gold Exchange-Traded Funds (EFTs);
• Gold mutual funds;
• Gold contracts for differences (CFDs).

Physical gold

Although always a practical option, purchasing physical gold is a time-proven investment method. You can purchase gold coins or bars and store them in a safe, with a caveat that additional safety and security measures are necessary.

Gold Exchange-Traded Funds (EFTs)

Gold EFTs are a highly convenient and cost-effective investment method compared to physical gold. If you invest in EFTs, you won’t have to worry about storage and safety, and you’ll save more as there will be no additional banking fees that come with physical gold.

Gold mutual funds

EFTs and mutual funds have the same diversification purpose, but mutual funds cannot be traded like stocks, meaning they can only be purchased at the end of each trading day, with their price based on the net asset value. 

By investing in gold mutual funds, you can potentially see higher returns than you would be investing in physical gold or EFTs. However, investing in mutual funds does come with some risks, as the returns often depend on, for example, the success of the company whose funds you’re investing in.

Gold contracts for differences (CFDs)

CFDs are a type of derivative that allows you to quote-on-quote invest in gold without having actual ownership of it. Instead, your profit depends on the differences between the asset price at the beginning of the trade and the price of the asset when the trade is closed. CFDs are a good short-term strategy due to their nature as a high-risk investment.  

Is gold a good investment?

Investing in gold might be a good idea if you approach it from an appropriate angle: by viewing it as a hedge option and a way to diversify your portfolio.

As a hedge, gold is useful as its value tends to rise when the value of your traditional assets starts to become volatile and uncertain. The reason for that is that gold is a finite resource not governed by any specific regulatory body or government, which means it is immune to most of the changes in stocks, inflation, etc. 

As a diversification tool, gold can be a guarantee that you will always have something to work on within your portfolio. It is, however, an unproductive asset, so it doesn’t generate income or dividends as fiat currencies. It should not constitute the majority of your portfolio, but keeping 5–10% of your assets in gold is a known way of stabilizing your portfolio.

Mistakes to avoid when investing in gold

It might take you some time to get used to gold and precious metal assets if you haven’t had a chance to familiarize yourself with them in the past. Some of the common mistakes people make when investing in gold for the first time include:

• Buying gold only as a Hail Mary pass: A lot of people invest in gold only when an economic crisis starts to peak around the corner, thinking precious metals are nothing but a commodity or a remedy to economic crises. On the contrary, gold is supposed to be a kind of insurance against such scenarios.
• Ignoring analytics and not doing enough research: As with investments of any kind, doing proper research is vital to success. Before investing or trading, make sure you’ve found a reliable, transparent broker.
• Disregarding or overlooking gold purity: When investing online, it is often easy to overlook the importance of gold purity. A good gold investment implies purity levels of 99.5% and up.
• Being unaware of the nuances of diversification: Many think gold always, without fail, negatively correlates with the value of the dollar, but that is not always the case. Sure, gold prices usually rise in bear markets periods, but it can sometimes happen during bull market periods, too.

Pros and cons of investing in gold

Disclaimer: The content on this site should not be considered investment advice. Investing is speculative. When investing, your capital is at risk.

FAQs about how to pay gold with American Express:

Can you buy gold with American Express?

Yes, you can buy gold with American Express, although it is advisable to do so via a third-party brokerage or investment service.

How to buy gold with American Express?

To purchase gold with American Express, register at a third-party brokerage and connect it to your AMEX card.

Is buying gold with American Express safe?

Yes, buying gold with American Express is safe, provided you stick to trusted and well-regulated dealerships, investment services, and brokers.

Is it a good idea to buy gold with American Express?

Whether it is a good idea to invest in gold will depend on many factors. Gold is typically used as a hedge, with its value expected to rise as your other stock assets become less valuable or the value of the world currency (i.e., USD) plummets. In short, the value of gold (and other precious metals) can be quite unstable short-term.

Can you buy gold with a credit card?

Yes, you can buy with a credit card if the commodity trading platform of your choice supports credit cards as a valid payment method. For more info, check out our dedicated guide on how to buy gold with a credit card.